Hilton workers rally
Several hundred hotel workers and supporters marched outside the
downtown Portland Hilton Hotel and Executive Tower Sept. 14 to protest
slow progress in contract bargaining. The rally was part of Hotel
Workers Rising — a national campaign by their union, UNITE
HERE, to increase union power in the hotel industry. In Portland,
UNITE HERE Local 9’s contract at the downtown Hilton expired
at the end of July. Hilton pastry chef Megan Futrell, a member of
the union bargaining team, said union priorities include reduced
workload for the hotel’s house-keepers, a successorship clause
to protect workers in the event the hotel is sold, and the right
of the local union elected officials to take extended unpaid leave
from work while serving their terms.

Sweeney,
Edwards will headline Oregon AFL-CIO convention
National AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, Democratic presidential candidate
John Edwards, and Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski are scheduled to address
delegates to the Oregon AFL-CIO's 50th convention
Oct. 7-10 in Seaside, Oregon.Labor
Council opposes tax-funded day labor center
The Northwest Oregon Labor Council took action Aug. 27 opposing a
proposed
day labor center subsidized by the City of Portland. Union officials also are miffed at their exclusion from a committee
comprised of self-identified stakeholders such as day laborers, Hispanic
organizations, businesses, churches and neighborhood groups.Disabled
worker programs act as a wedge for privatizationCritics say an
Oregon program to help disabled workers has run amok, threatening
public and private-sector union jobs while neglecting the truly disabled.New
group formed for union members who like to hunt and fishA
new group for union members who hunt and fish is offering discounts
on magazines and outdoor gear — and inviting members to bring
the power of the union idea to conservation efforts.Firefighters
use new card-check law to secure union In August, a group
of eight employees at Newport Fire & Rescue became the first in
Oregon to make use of a new state law that requires public employers
to recognize a union based on "card check."Maintenance
workers ratify new pact with Portland Schools by one vote
By a vote of 40 to 39, maintenance and construction workers
ratified a new four-year contract at Portland Public Schools Aug.
29. The crew had been working under a management-implemented
contract since June 11. In April, members had rejected the district's proposal
by a margin of 80 percent, and authorized a strike
— the first such authorization in the unit's history.Farra
elected secretary-treasurer of Transit Union Local 757
Tri-Met streetcar operator Evette Farra has been elected secretary-treasurer
of Portland-based Amalgamated Transit Union Local 757, out-polling
five other candidates in a race to fill the unexpired term of Tom
Wallace. Wallace resigned in February after admitting to stealing
money from a special fund set up to help pay child care and elder
care expenses for Tri-Met employees. He is now facing a federal criminal
indictment. Oregon
AFL-CIO endorses two ballot referrals: Measures 49, 50The
Oregon AFL-CIO is getting behind a land-use reform proposal and a
cigarette tax increase to fund health care — two ballot measures
that will go before voters in November. Both are referrals from the
Oregon Legislature.